So this morning I woke up at 7 like usual to get ready for school. I got on my uniform and such then walked out for breakfast to find Yosuke. He told me that I wasn’t going to school today. Instead I was going to a glass factory and then a Castle. I was all like ‘WHOA!’ Well, not really. I went a long with it because it meant that one, i wasn’t going to school and was heading to the University, and two, I was going to go to these places! All I can say is, wow. They were a blast. So at around 9:30 AM Yosuke and I headed to Okinawa International University so I could wait for the bus to leave to these places. The nice thing was I got to talk to Chrissy for about 1 and half hours. Then I left right after that! I sat with my good buddies from Australia, Nathan and Dalin. Nice blokes. We were driven first into the heart of Naha, Okinawa. This was quite fun because it was much more like mainland Japan then the rest of the island. Still, every thing was made of concreit. Oh well. We went to this glass factory and I thought it was going to be only a tour of the place. No, my friends. I actually got to do some glass blowing! It was so much fun but before i describe that, I will talk about what I did while I waited just because I think it’s funny.

So I had to wait for my turn because I was literally the last person on the list to go. So me and my Aussie pals went to the touristy flea-market next to the place. Dalin and I were looking for a watch…did we find one? No, we found some that didn’t have batteries though. That wasn’t too helpful. I needed one that worked. Instead we went into a dollar shop. Actually is a 100 yen shop. Those places should be made illegal for how much GOOD stuff they sell for that price…its just insane. I didn’t buy anything though.

So after that we all headed back to the glass place (after stopping at the arcade…) At this place they make you put on a bunch of protective gear so you don’t get burned by the liquid glass. That was very interesting since everything was very sweaty. Doesn’t matter, its only human juice. So from there they get the glass and let you blow it up like a balloon! I wanted mine to go pop but alas it didn’t. From there on, you just sit and they get the glass ready for you to open with the biggest tweezers ever. Over all it was a great experience (yes that’s all.) Sorry but I’m not telling you what I made since it’s a present for someone. I hope you understand…I knew you would.

From there we went to this castle…a Gwen what’s the name of it? I can’t remember and I’m too lazy to get my ticket out…maybe I’ll fix that later…maybe. Anyways, it was a castle. It was used for the King to conduct business and live in. It was very beautiful and very red. The look of it was very Chinese and for good reason. *Fun History Fact* Okinawa was once part of the Chinese empire then was taken over by Japan. So this resulted in a lot of Chinese influence in Okinawa. It really showed in this place. When I put up the pictures you can see this. Not tonight though…sorry. I’m too tired.

Well for now I need sleep. I hope you all are well. Nothing else to report about except that a typhoon is coming. Its supposed to hit on Friday. I’m kinda excited to tell the truth. I’ve never had this before. And don’t worry, this entire island is made for typhoons. Every building is made of solid cement. Anyways, be safe all.

~Kyle